


On The Roof

by Zee_McZed



Category: El Goonish Shive
Genre: Ellen's memories, Gen, Siblings Being Supportive, shortfic, working through trauma
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-09
Updated: 2020-01-09
Packaged: 2021-02-27 11:41:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 524
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22186513
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Zee_McZed/pseuds/Zee_McZed
Summary: Elliot isn't used to finding Ellen on the roof.
Comments: 1
Kudos: 27





	On The Roof

He found Ellen on the roof. It wasn’t really a thing for them - their house had pretty good AC, so there was no need to climb up on the roof during hot summer nights to cool off, and it was big enough that you didn’t really need the roof for privacy (shared room notwithstanding). So to say red flags were going off was an understatement. Elliot climbed up and planted himself beside her.    
  
“Hey.”

“Hey.” She clutched her knees to her chest and stared out into the distance. Elliot glanced around.

“I know that getting up here is probably shorthand for ‘something’s bothering me and I want to be left alone’, but-”

“It isn’t.” Ellen kept staring. Elliot squinted. 

“You aren’t a good liar, you know that.”

“I’m also not lying this time, so it balances out.”

“...Ellen.” He squeezed her shoulder. “Alright, so why  _ are  _ you up here?”

“Just dealing with memories.” Ellen frowned. “We never knew Edie in this universe, right?”

“Edie who?”

“Junior high. Short, skinny, black haired. Had a thing for elves and any anime  _ involving  _ elves.” Elliot racked his brain, his brow furrowing. Maybe? No. No, he - did he?

“I really don’t think so. At least not in any of my classes.”

“Yeah, that’s what I thought. Hard to sort them out sometimes.” She sighed. 

“So… what, what’s got you so torn up from back in  _ junior high?  _ It can’t be regrets.”

“It’s, uh.” She chewed her lip. Elliot cocked his head to the side. “It’s just that when you watch someone  _ die  _ it kind of leaves an impact.”

“...oh.”

“Yeah,  _ oh.  _ Thing is I didn’t know I had until years later.” Ellen sounded solid. Calm. But - what was that line that Susan quoted for the show last week?  _ Do not mistake my composure for ease _ or something? “She had a… a stroke or something. During lunch break. Just  _ collapsed,  _ hit her head on the way down. I was maybe five feet away when it happened. I remember trying to get her attention, trying to get her to respond - I didn’t know how to do CPR or anything and I couldn’t even tell if she was breathing or not.” She pulled her knees a little closer. “Her… her parents told me that she’d passed at the hospital. That when the paramedics came, they’d gotten her breathing for a while. Found out they’d been lying to spare my feelings when I was in senior year.”

“...that sucks.” Elliot mumbled, at a loss for what else to say.

“Tell me about it.”

“I’m guessing we hit some kind of anniversary, then?”

“Nope.” Ellen said, still perfectly deadpan. “Just… memories, you know? Sometimes they creep up on you. Sometimes nothing triggers them, they’re just…  _ there.” _

“Right.” Elliot cursed inwardly. All his instincts were screaming  _ fix this  _ but there was nothing to  _ fix.  _ It was someone from another world, and even if it wasn’t,  _ she’d been dead for years.  _ So he sat there. He wrapped an arm around Ellen’s shoulders. And he held her gently. 

  
It was all he could do. It didn’t feel like a lot. But at least it was  _ something.  _

**Author's Note:**

> EGS is very much my happy place. It's a beacon of idealism and joy in an increasingly-rotten world, and when I have to deal with suffering - be it the little stuff or the big stuff - it's become a part of how I cope. 
> 
> Thanks again to Dan. If we ever meet, you're getting hugged, and I can't promise I'll let go quickly.


End file.
